The latest Economist reports the Germans are the most optimistic they have been since 2000 and business confidence is at its highest level since the Ifo institute began tracking it 20 years ago. The Economist writes,

What’s Germany’s secret? It helps that the country did not experience a property or credit bubble, and that it has kept its public finances admirably under control. But above all Germany’s success has been export-driven: unlike most other big rich economies it has maintained its share of world exports over the past decade, even as China has risen.

No housing bubble and an export driven economy. Here’s a chart which provides a sense of why the Germans are so incensed at bailing out their Eurozone brethren. They’re paying for the cleanup for a party they didn’t attend. German house prices basically flatlined during the great global housing bubble. (click here if chart is not observable)